Residents shocked, saddened by sudden, ugly turn of events Many relieved when told their friends were safe

Tuesday

Apr 16, 2013 at 3:15 AMApr 16, 2013 at 9:48 AM

By Michelle Kingstonmkingston@fosters.com

DOVER — Kimry Corrette said she had to fight back tears when she heard the news at work of the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon.

“It is one of the biggest races of the nation and it is just really devastating that someone had to ruin it this year,” Kimry said. “And kill people.”Her husband, Corey Corrette, said the two of them have been to the marathon several times in the last few years, right in the area where the bombs exploded near the finish line.“We happen to be runners, as well, we've had friends who ran it,” he said. “The way we run, it would be about the times these (bombs) were going off. It's just ordinary folks like us, so it brings it home a little bit more.”Daryle Lamoureux, of Rollinsford, was a spectator cheering at mile 25 for his friends running with the Coastal Athletic Association of Portsmouth. “I don't really know what to say,” Lamoureux said calmly, but still affected by the events he witnessed earlier in the afternoon.

He said he did not know what he was hearing when the bombs went off.

“It sounded like a cannon fire or something and all the sudden you see the police going down Commonwealth Avenue and they stopped the runners and it was all happening right in front of us,” he said. “It wasn't panic, it was just more like confusion.”

He said they did not leave until they accounted for each runner through CAA.

Keven Laureau, of Barrington, said it took over two hours to get out of Boston after making his way through the city to drop a friend off after a trip to New York.

“Everything was just crazy,” he said. “Everywhere we went was awful.”

After discussing how no one will ever forget this event, Kimry Corrette said, “2013, the bomb year.”She said it was most difficult watching one man, but his knees gave out on the course when the bombs went off.“It's like, 'Ugh,'” she said, remembering how hard she trained for the marathon she ran. “Those people were so close, you are almost there and someone takes it away from you.”

Mary Schwarzer-Hampton, of Durham, said as disturbing as it was to watch the news unfold, she wants people to be careful and to not assume who was behind the act.

“I think after 9/11, we need to make sure we don't jump to assumptions,” she said, also adding how quick people were to assume who was behind the Oklahoma City bombing in 2005. “And, of course, I am so sorry for all of the people whose friends and family were harmed and I am grateful that my family is safe.”Whitney Kent, of Madbury, said she “lucked out,” with the 10 people she knows who were at the marathon being home and safe as of Monday night. One of those people was a good friend of hers that was running.“She did not get to finish,” Kent said.

Just like Corey Corrette, Kent said the event hits close to home.

“It's really similar to 9/11 in the sense that it is such a big city and so many people are living there, too, and we are so close to it,” she said. “I am just shocked. We just keep hearing more things and it is just really reminiscent of what has happened in the past.”

Dover Police Chief Anthony Colarusso said Monday evening that the department is continuing to monitor the situation and is concerned for the people in Boston and those who were hurt or injured.

“Because we have a train that stops in Dover from Boston, we will have police presence when the trains arrive in Dover,” he said. “We are thinking logically.”